Generation of Change: A Look at Women in the Progressive Era
Women. They’ve been living in the shadows of their husbands and fathers for as long as history could remember. History doesn’t often record women, aside from some prominent ones like Cleopatra and Joan of Arc. For thousands of years, men had been in the spotlight of historical events. Why is this? Because men like the spotlight and decided to name history his-story? No, actually. It is because most women, for years, possessed scarcely any power. They are subject to the male figure dominant over them, whether it’s their father or husband. Because of this, women could not be lieutenants or generals, conquering lands like Alexander the Great. They were unable to realize much of their potential and remained silently in the background. However, much of this changed in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It is the Progressive Era and America is– as the name suggests– progressing. From labor reforms to the feminist movement, the Progressive Era saw a shift in American society. New ideas were conceived which gave birth to protests and fights for a new social order. One of the major ones is the fight for women’s rights. During the Progressive era, women played crucial roles as social reformers, feminists, and suffragettes. Their definitions of freedom varied widely — from access to education and labor rights to political representation and bodily autonomy — yet all contributed to a larger movement for gender equality.
In the past, women often remained silent in the face of injustice and inequality. The Progressive Era, however, saw a shift in which women began to advocate for their own rights as well as the rights of others. Whether it’s labor rights, immigrant rights, racial equality or gender equality, the Progressive Era saw a rise in female social activists. They sought to bring change to a world filled with injustice and inequality. For example, Mary “Mother” Jones was a social reformer who, “at the age of 83 had been jailed after addressing the Colorado strikers,” and was also a “fiery organizer” in the fight for labor rights. (Foner, p.709) Another prominent female social reformer was Jane Addams. She founded Hull House in Chicago, a “settlement house devoted to improving the lives of the immigrant poor.” (Foner, p.719–720) Both women, along with many others, took a stand to bring about change in a flawed society. These reformers saw freedom as a right that ought to be available to all, regardless of status, ethnicity, background, gender, or religion.
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During this era, women also played the role of suffragettes. Suffragettes are women who advocate for women’s suffrage– a woman’s right to vote– through organized protests. Women began to rise and advocate for the right of a woman to have a say in US laws and enforcements. At the turn of the century, membership in the fight for women’s suffrage increased rapidly. Statistics show an increase in membership in the NAWSA (National American Woman Suffrage Association) “ from 13,000 in 1893 to more than 2 million by 1917.” (Foner, p.721) That is a 15,285% increase in only 24 years. This statistic demonstrates the jump in suffragette membership and courageous women who stood up to fight for gender equality during the turn of the century. The Progressive Era saw a rapid shift in social order as many who were once silent and oppressed stood up to have their voices heard by those in power. Suffragettes believed that freedom meant having a voice in the decisions made by the government. It meant having a say in the laws and policies that would affect their livelihoods.
Another role women played during this era was the role of feminists. Women began to question the societal norms and the legal, social, and economic structures that oppressed women. Women began seeking independence and autonomy over their body, mind, and property. An example we could examine is Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Women and Economics (1898). In it, Gilman noted that “a change has come… The radical change in the economic position of women is advancing upon us… One of its most noticeable features is the demand in women not only for their own money, but for their own work for the sake of personal expression.” (“Women and Economics,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman) Here, Gilman pointed out the radical change that is looming over the late 19th century. Women wanted not just their own money but their own career. Gilman also stated that women’s desire to work is for the sake of “personal expression.” Not for money or an additional income, but for “personal expression,” a means of expressing their passions, beliefs, and individuality. They no longer wish to remain in the shadows of their fathers or husbands. Instead, they wish to hold charge over their own career, property, and financial decisions. Feminists believe that freedom should be available to them as it is available to men. And to achieve genuine freedom, they must be freed from the confines of housework and traditional societal expectations of women. They ought to be free to express themselves, define their own way of life, and have control over their lives.
As women desire economic independence, they also desire control over their body and freedom from the confines of family, housework, and motherhood. While the public mostly agreed upon topics on maternalist reforms like mothers’ pensions and legal protections of mothers, many topics like birth control rights and abortion rights remain controversial even to this day. A prominent yet controversial birth control activist of the time was Margaret Sanger. She was a well-known a sex educator and the founder of the birth control movement. She highlights in her publication “Free Motherhood” from Woman and the New Race the difficulties faced by a woman. Sanger declared that women in the working class are the “greatest sufferers of all. Not only do they bear the material hardships and deprivations in common with the rest of the family, but in the case of the mother, these are intensified… It is the woman who suffers first from hunger, the woman whose clothing is least adequate, the woman who must work all hours… whose health breaks first and most hopelessly, under the long hours of work, the drain of frequent childbearing, and often almost constant nursing of babies.” (Sanger, “Free Motherhood.”) Here, Sanger explains in detail the living conditions of women in poor working-class communities. While the early 20th century sees miserable and gruesome living conditions among the working-class families, Sanger highlights the worse conditions of the mother of such families. She describes a mother’s unending toil in the house, emphasizing on the drain and detrimental effects on health caused by constant childbearing and nursing. “It is the essential function of voluntary motherhood to choose its own mate, to determine the time of childbearing and to regulate strictly the number of offspring.” (Sanger, “Free Motherhood.”) Sanger then advocated for the freedom of women to choose their spouses and when to have children. She claimed that this freedom is essential for the freedom of the world. According to Sanger, “A free race cannot be born of slave mothers. A woman enchained cannot choose but give a measure of that bondage to her sons and daughters. No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body.” (Sanger, “Free Motherhood.”) This section in particular runs on some questionable reasoning, as powerful “free” men were also born of women who were– as Sanger stated– not free. Regardless, Sanger’s argument stands on the fact that a woman ought to be free to make her own choices on when or whether to have children. She also ought to live a life free of the confines of motherhood, so that “she will give play to her tastes, her talents and her ambitions. She will become a full-rounded human being.” (Sanger, “Free Motherhood.”) Maternalist reformers and birth control activists like Margaret Sanger believed that freedom meant the liberty of a woman to make her own choices and live her own life instead of losing it to motherhood and constant service to her husband and children.
In conclusion, during the Progressive era, women played the various roles of reformers, feminists, and suffragettes. Their values, beliefs, and ideas on freedom vary widely from women’s suffrage to birth control rights. Yet, all contributed to a larger movement for gender equality and women’s rights. The fight for gender equality doesn’t end there in the early 20th century. Our current society still sees many issues of sexism and gender inequality. Women today may enjoy far more rights than those living in the early 20th century like the right to vote, own property, or hold a career. However, sexism is not just a problem of the 20th century, just like how racism isn’t just a problem of the Reconstruction era. Women today are being overly sexualized, often seen as objects to please and appeal to men. Their intelligence and skills are often overlooked and they could be seen as feeble and dependent. This prejudice hinders many women from reaching their full potential socially, politically, and economically. The struggles of women in the Progressive Era may have laid the foundation for the freedoms women enjoy today, but the journey toward full gender equality is far from over. Yet, the Progressive Era saw the rise of a generation of courageous women who were tired of remaining silent in the background. They saw injustice in a society and fought to change it. They fought for their voices to be heard and to insist that they, too, are human beings with goals, aspirations, dreams, and passions. The Progressive Era saw a generation of women rising from the ashes and fighting. Fighting for their rights as well as their daughters’ and their daughter’s daughters’. They took part in ensuring equal enjoyment of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all.
